welfare

Dutch 'no dead ends' education model yields lowest youth Neet rates in Europe

• The Netherlands has one of the world's lowest Neet rates for 18- to 24-year-olds at 4.9%, compared with 15.1% in the UK, according to a report by former UK Health Secretary Alan Milburn published last month.
• Dutch law requires young people to stay in education or training until they either obtain a qualification or turn 18 — a policy known as the kwalificatieplicht (qualification requirement).
• At around age 12, Dutch pupils are streamed into one of three secondary tracks based on teacher recommendations and test results — a system some critics say can harm self-esteem and disadvantage certain children.
• The Dutch education system funds a layered safety net: schools receive budgets for health and wellbeing, which they use to contract specialist organisations such as the Mooi Jong Academy to intervene before students disengage.
• Students aged 16 and older can enter the beroepsbegeleidende leerweg (vocational training pathway), combining part-time employment with classroom study, and businesses can request customised college programmes.
• Despite the system's success, youth unemployment is rising in the Netherlands, and the government is responding by easing access to benefits through the Employee Insurance Agency (UWV).